Thinking Skills

Thinking Skills & Routines

Critical thinking strategies have a vital place in the classroom, and this applies to the study of Scripture. By ‘critical thinking’ we mean the capacity to think deeply and creatively about an object of study, with close observations and probing questions which can unearth fresh insights, evoke further questions and inspire innovation and action.

A number of research-driven organisations have distilled their findings of critical thinking into a series of simple steps or ‘thinking routines’ for classroom use. For example:

Visible Thinking Routines developed by Harvard Graduate School of Education, such as See-Think-Wonder, encourage active processing and the promotion of Cultures of Thinking. pz.harvard.edu/projects/ visible-thinking

New Pedagogies for Deep Learning is a global partnership which promotes a set of Deep Learning Competencies (known as the six ‘C’s’). npdl.global

From a Catholic perspective, educational approaches which promote critical thinking find their place within a larger faith-based appreciation of Scripture as the inspired Word of God.

Thinking Routines

Thinking routines can be used in the classroom to develop critical thinking about Scripture. A number are listed below.